The jeep ride

We met our guide, Kevin, early in the morning.  We loaded up in the jeep.  I sat in the back with mom and dad rode in front with Kevin.  Our first stop was Newspaper Rock.  It had all kinds of cool writing and pictures on the wall from the Anasazi people.  Some of the paintings of feet had 6 toes!  From there we drove into Canyonlands National Park.  We started up Elephant Hill.  It was very bumpy and I hung on like Grandpa said.  Kevin put on special gloves and rolled his window down so he could look out to help him drive.  It was so bumpy that mom and I kept swaying side to side and when the jeep tilted it felt like we would flip over.  We also drove backwards on Elephant Hill, I thought that was kind of scary.  We drove over several more hills and stopped at Devil's Kitchen for lunch.  Kevin said we could explore while he set up lunch.  I climbed over big boulders.  Even though it was very hot it was cool in the shade of the rocks.  After lunch we drove some more and came across a big field where there were tons and tons of grasshoppers.  Since we had our windows down, grasshoppers hopped in.  You should have seen the windshield.  It was covered with grasshoppers.  Once we were done in the field there were still a few inside the jeep on the roof.  They eventually hopped to freedom.  Our next stop was the hike to Chesler Park.  On our first water break we saw some cool swirly rocks, then we saw a cool rock shaped like Santa Claus.  Then Kevin asked if I wanted to lead the hike.  He said we would soon be in a really cool place.  He was right.  The cool place was the "birthplace of cairns".  It was kind of like a cave with tons of cairns.  I built one.  It was also a cool temperature. Then I continued to lead the hike through very, very narrow places.  It was like a tunnel, but then we climbed some rocks to a view of Chesler Park.  We climbed a little more for an even cooler view.  There Kevin asked if I wanted to try to climb down.  He showed me how to "boot and scoot."  At the bottom we found "trail booty"...it was a hat.  After climbing back up the rock Kevin had me lead everyone out.  He told me to look for footprints along the trail or cairns people built along the path so I wouldn't get lost.  It was a cool jeep ride.  I will tell you about Fiery Furnace and river rafting tomorrow.

A letter to Grandma and Grandpa... and Aunt Amy

Today was our first day in Moab. We went to Arches National Park.First I started of the day taking a walk with dad.We saw cool lizards,chipmunks and even a few golf balls.  Then we got in the car and drove to Arches National Park.  The rocks were amazing.  They were red and the sky was blue.  But it wasn't just any blue; against the red rocks it was really blue.  In the visitor center we talked to the ranger and on Wednesday we are going to hike Fiery Furnace with a guide.  The ranger said we will get to climb on rocks and go off the trail. We drove to the Window Section of the park and took a short hike to get closer to the phenomenal rocks.  We saw the North and South Window and we took the Primitive Trail which I thought was cool because you got to climb on some rocks and there were not many people.  The only sign of animal life was a few lizards and a few chipmunks.  Maybe they thought it was too hot. Then there was a short hike to Double Arch.  We went back to the house to cool off in the pool before heading out again later this afternoon when it is not as hot.  I'll share more tomorrow!

Love, Emily

Emily Grace Takes Over

A New Day. Now that Emily can type like a fish. We have decided to have her write a few entries while she's on vacation. Enjoy.
Dad

Vacations

I'm not sure how we started on this new tradition but it's a nice one. When we go on vacation Emily and I get up before everyone else and have our own little mini-adventures early in the morning. It wasn't hard to convince her once she found out that donuts were involved.

A Lost Entry, from Oh, So Long Ago...

It's just another sign that she's not a little girl anymore. She used to have "cute" names for her grandparents-Nanna and PopPop. Those were hers; not prompted or taught to her by adults. The adults also referred to them that way to acknowledge her "speak". They were unique to my parents and we always knew who she was talking about. Well, just this past week things changed. I told her Nanna was coming in the morning to get her and she looked back at me and said, "Grandma coming?" I was too sad to even answer her. She still goes back and forth, but each day it's becoming more "Grandma/Grandpa" and less "Nanna/PopPop". Being a parent is crazy. You are so glad she is becoming more self sufficient and independent while at the same sadden that she's no longer a baby...she's a big girl!

Love, Mom

A Strange Cat...a Very Strange Cat

Emily Grace called me to look out the window to see the strange cat that was sitting in the driveway. Strange was hardly the word for it. "It" was actually a pile of lint that the technician had removed from the dryer vent that he was cleaning. Guess two years is a little too long to wait between cleanings. I wondered why I had to keep hitting the fluff cycle three times after the clothes were already "dry."

Love Dad

Early to Bed? Early to Rise!

Emily Grace is definitely an early riser, she is up hours before Mom and I get up and in the early hours things can happen. This morning I went into Emily's bathroom and there on the counter is a flashlight, a Scotch tape dispenser and a timer. What would anyone need these three things for in a bathroom at 6am? Well, today is Mother's Day and Emily was out, in the dark, picking flowers so she could make a bunch of small vases each with its own little flower. Which was beautiful but still doesn't explain the timer.

Love,
Dad